


rise up from golden ashes

by DesertLily



Series: Saturnalia 2020 [2]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Andrew Minyard Loves Neil Josten, Daemons, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Protective Andrew Minyard, Reflection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:00:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28120533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesertLily/pseuds/DesertLily
Summary: After everything he's been through, Neil can't help but doubt himself. He's just lucky that he has Andrew there to remind him how much of an idiot he is.
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Series: Saturnalia 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2057067
Comments: 2
Kudos: 40





	rise up from golden ashes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ThatHydrokinetic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatHydrokinetic/gifts).



> Yet another Saturnalia gift for a friend!

For as long as Neil could remember, he’d had Sune. His daemon was a part of him that he had never left behind; never wanted to learn to separate himself from. Even if his mother had insisted that he try. After all, Sune may have just been a door mouse but he was still a liability; still something that could get lost or left behind. He was curious; careless. Not like Vera. The python rarely left his mother’s side. Vera had been just as strict and cold as his mom had been. But both had looked out for him in their own way. They’d tried to keep him safe and they had died for it. He’d been left almost alone. But he still had Sune. He would always have Sune.

Sune’s curiosity was something Neil had done his best to hide at Palmetto. It was out of fear; a fear that he would be found and exposed for all that he was. A fear that was as logical as it was illogical. Especially as he had been so certain Kevin would recognise Sune by name. But he hadn’t. No one had. No one had thought to think of him as anything other than Neil Josten for a long time. Then, as usual,  _ everything went to shit _ . Everything that could have gone wrong  _ had _ gone wrong. The Ravens. Riko.  _ His father _ . Everything his mother had died trying to protect him from. 

But he survived. 

For whatever reason, Neil survived every little bit of hell that the universe seemed ready to throw at him. For all the bad, there was still good. He found something permanent in his life. He found friends that were far better than family. He met Andrew Minyard. Andrew was...well, he was Andrew. There was no way to describe him that would do him justice. He was frustrating and irritating and  _ Neil was hopelessly in love with him _ . And for whatever reason, Andrew loved him back. Nothing about their relationship was conventional but then again, nothing about either of them had ever been conventional either. 

Neil wasn’t sure why he found himself sitting in the bleachers of the Foxhole Court. It just seemed right. A reminder of how far he’d come and that he was  _ free _ . He was living his life for himself for once and doing everything he wanted to. But...There was still that ungodly ball of self-doubt in his stomach. He hadn’t lost that part of him that was so sure he didn’t deserve any of this. As he watched Sune run through the bleachers, finally being able to explore to his heart’s content, he didn’t feel the full degree of peace he knew he should have. 

“You’re thinking too much, junkie.” Before Neil had the chance to look up, Adrestia was curling up in his lap. He smiled as he gently scratched behind the cat’s ears, glancing over as Andrew sat down besides him. “You don’t have any brain cells so it’s not a good look when you try to use them.” A half-smile crossed Neil’s face as he was flicked on the forehead. 

Neil let his head come to rest against him, relaxing ever so slightly as Andrew wrapped an arm around him. After all, there was some degree of comfort they found in each other. They should have never worked. Nothing about should have fit together. Neil was fire and Andrew was ice. Yet they worked. They fit each other like puzzle pieces; each from a different puzzle but they fit together all the same. “Have you ever just felt like you don’t belong? Like you just...don’t deserve every good thing in your life?” So maybe Neil was more than a little bit self-loathing. He watched as Adrestia slipped off his lap, moving to chase Sune. The two moved in harmony, dancing between each other. A predator and a prey acting as if they were nothing but the best of friends. 

Andrew snorted, looking very much as if he wanted to burst out laughing. “You really do grow stupider and stupider with every passing second.” If it were anyone else saying those words then Neil would have been more than a little bit offended. But Andrew was just...Andrew. “ _ You _ deserve every good little thing in the world. Ever sweet little ‘happy ending’.” Something akin to sarcasm oozed from his voice as Neil shoved him gently. “But you...You are by no means as terrible as you think you are.” 

“Neither are you.” Neil would stand by that. Deep down, there was a lot of good inside Andrew. There was a part of him that  _ cared _ and  _ loved _ , and Neil was honoured to get to know that part. After all, they were both broken people. It only made sense that they’d seen each other’s broken parts. “It’s just...It’s been so long. I’ve spent so long running and hiding and  _ I don’t have to do that anymore _ . It just feels...odd.” 

He nudged Neil with a slight gentleness. “Shut the fuck up.” There wasn’t a hint of malice in his voice. “It’s called having a home. Because that’s what you have now. You’re stuck with the lot of us and Nicky will start crying if you try to leave.” Andrew pulled him just that little bit closer. Well, if Nicky would be upset then Neil supposed he’d have no choice but to stay. “Look at them.” He gestured with his head towards where Adrestia and Sune were playing amongst the bleachers. “They’re free. Just like us.” 

Neil watched the two daemons for a few moments, somewhat transfixed because  _ Andrew was right _ . There was nothing that could stop him anymore. For the first time in his life,  _ he was truly free _ . There was nothing in the world holding him back. “...I love you.” 

“How tragic for you.” He paused “Yes or no?” 

“...Yes.” When Andrew’s lips came crashing down on his, Neil couldn’t help but think that he had made the right choices in life. After all, there was nowhere in the world he’d rather be than by Andrew Minyard’s side. 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are appreciated or hmu @ desert-lily on tumblr


End file.
